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DOCUMENTATION FOR THE GENERIC CLEARANCE

OF CUSTOMER SERVICE SATISFACTION COLLECTIONS

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Title IV Training Survey

[X] SURVEY [ ] FOCUS GROUP [ ] SOFTWARE USABILITY TESTING

DESCRIPTION OF THIS SPECIFIC COLLECTION

The Training and Information Services Division (TISD) of the Office of Federal Student Aid requests clearance for three customer surveys which we will email to a stratified random sample of institutions of higher education eligible to participate in federal student aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. These surveys will be conducted during the late summer of 2007 and on an as needed basis through FY 2008.

The purpose of this survey series is to determine what federal financial aid program training will best meet client schools needs during the next year and how that training should be packaged and delivered, based upon their needs and expectations. Title IV eligible schools vary greatly in resources, organization, range and depth of Title IV program administration experience. These differences extend to student demographics, staff knowledge as well as their participation in the various federal student aid programs. These factors greatly influence the kind of training experiences they want and need from us.

As a result of prior survey’s TISD has identified the need to survey our participating institutions in the following three areas:

1. Training Satisfaction Survey of Individual Courses

2. Longitudinal Survey of Satisfaction with Overall Training Offerings

3. Follow-up Survey to Surveys 1 and 2.

Each of the surveys gathers different data from the cohort of Title IV participating institutions that have attended training sessions over the course of the prior year. The Training Satisfaction survey is a replacement for our existing training satisfaction survey. The longitudinal survey is exactly as the previously approved Title IV Training Needs Survey OMB # 1845-0045 v. 18. The follow-up survey is a new survey designed to provide more depth of knowledge as to specific training topic suggestions that schools have made on the prior two surveys. A separate clearance section is included for each of the surveys. Copies of the surveys are attached or linked in the appropriate sections.

The first survey, The Training Satisfaction Survey, is a replacement of the survey now in use for all training sessions conducted by TISD.

The second survey is the longitudinal survey, and is a replacement for the Title IV Training Needs Survey OMB # 1845-0045 v. 18. This survey has asked an identical set of questions over the past four years. While this is not a typical longitudinal survey, as it does not follow the same group of subjects, it does perform a similar role in that it allows us to sample opinion over time from a group of individuals who share similar attributes.

The third survey, Title IV Training Needs, is designed to provide more depth of knowledge as to specific training topic suggestions that schools have made on the prior two surveys. Specifically, schools have told us they want training on subject “X”, this survey attempts to more closely identify what schools mean by “Subject “X.” Our understanding of Subject “X’ may be entirely different than what a school is looking for. This survey attempts to isolate specific training topics into a narrow range of possible content areas within a particular subject. This survey can be reviewed by clicking on this link: http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB226EVL8QZYR

AMOUNT OF ANY PROPOSED STIPEND OR INCENTIVE

No payments are planned.

BURDEN HOUR COMPUTATION (Number of responses (X) estimated response or participation time in minutes (/60) = annual burden hours):

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Total Burden
Survey 1: All attendees of any TISD training event	Up to 2,600	5-7 minutes	303 hrs.
Survey 2: Approximately 1500 participants who attended one or more training events in the past 12 months	Up to 1,500	5-7 minutes	175 hrs.
Survey 3: Approximately 500 participants who attended one or more training events in the past 12 months	Up to 500	5-7 minutes	17.5 hrs.
Totals	Up to 4,600	5-7 minutes	495.5 hrs.

BURDEN COST COMPUTATION

Federal staff and/or contractor costs	Hourly Rate	Number of Hours	Total BurdenCost
Federal staff time for all three surveys are the only incurred costs.	$26.00	240	$6,240
Totals	$26.00	240	$6,240

STATISTICAL INFORMATION

If statistical methods are to be used, fully describe the methodology, sample selection, expected response rates, and any other concepts needed to provide a full understanding of those methods.

The purpose of the first survey is to elicit immediate feedback on training courses offered by TISD. It also provides job performance feedback on the Training Officers, or other non-federal trainers, regarding the presentation. The 15-question survey will be distributed at the end of any in-person training session and a link will be provided to all participants at the conclusion of Internet based training courses. This is an opportunity sample that is not required of participants.

The purpose of the second survey is to determine what federal financial aid program training will best meet client schools needs during the next year and how that training should be packaged and delivered, based upon their needs and expectations. Title IV eligible schools vary greatly in resources, organization, range and depth of Title IV program administration experience, student demographics, extent of participation in federal student aid programs, etc. An instruction letter and a link to the 15-question survey will be emailed to a random sample of Title IV eligible institutions. The sample cohort comes from email addresses provided by institutions registering to attend other TISD training events. This cohort represents all institutions attending training in the past 12 months. It may or may not be entirely reflective of the Title IV participating institutions as a whole, but cohort members have registered to attend at least one training event. We will evaluate the results to determine if survey responses are affected by type and control of the institution.

The third and final survey’s purpose is to determine what schools mean when they say they need more training on a particular topic. Each area of training we provide is composed of multiple content areas within a given topic. This survey is designed to elicit the exact nature of the perceived training deficit identified in the longitudinal survey noted above. We will select a subset of participants to resurvey based on their responses. The sample cohort comes from email addresses provided by institutions registering to attend other TISD training events. This cohort represents all institutions attending training in the past 12 months. It may or may not be entirely reflective of the Title IV participating institutions as a whole, but cohort members have registered to attend at least one training event. We will evaluate the results to determine if survey responses are affected by type and control of the institution.

NAME OF CONTACT PERSON: Mark Gerhard

TELEPHONE NUMBER: 415-486-5620

MAILING LOCATION: RO9 - 8503

ED DEPARTMENT, OFFICE, DIVISION, BRANCH: FSA – Training and Information Services Division

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